Luggage/backpack carrier device

ABSTRACT

A luggage/backpack carrier system is a product and process for carrying luggage or a backpack by using a handled, lightweight carrier that may come equipped with or without wheels.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/273,688 filed on Mar. 6,2001 incorporated herein by reference.

WRITTEN DESCRIPTION

[0002] The luggage/backpack carrier system is a product and process forcarrying luggage or a backpack by using a handled, lightweight carrierthat may come equipped with or without wheels. The product's advantagesover products now available on the market is the product's appeal tokids, its ergonomic efficiency, and its easy use and storage.

[0003] There is a real need for a luggage/backpack device that solvesthe problem of excess weight that travelers and students incur bycarrying around backpacks. Orthopedists and chiropractors now see twiceas many school age patients for scoliosis (curvature of the spine),muscle fatigue, and spinal inflammation. They say these problems mayeventually self-correct, but the long-term effects are unknown.

[0004] For school age children carrying backpacks, the weight of thebackpack can be significant. For example, a child weighing 85 pounds andcarrying a loaded backpack weighing 25 pounds is carrying approximatelythirty percent of his body weight. Doctors recommend carrying at themost fifteen percent of your body weight. Parents, teachers, principals,and administrators are seeking solutions to this problem. Some suggestedsolutions are:

[0005] 1. Two sets of books, one for the classroom and one for home.Problem: Too expensive for many schools.

[0006] 2. Teachers volunteered to stagger homework. Problem: May startout as a good idea, but probably won't last.

[0007] 3. Ergonomically correct backpacks have been introduced tostudents, but have not been accepted by students.

[0008] 4. Ultimate solution is rolling backpacks. The students feel theyare “uncool” and they become a tough sell to them. The other reasonsthat affect the salability of the current rolling backpacks are: mostare too big to fit in the standard sized school locker; if they do fit,with twenty pounds of books, plus the extra weight of the rollingmechanism that is built into the bag, students can't lift them off theground; some have been built with the possibility of wearing it on yourback, but the built-in rolling mechanism adds weight and is notcomfortable.

[0009] The product described herein was designed to solve these problemsand be acceptable to students.

[0010] In one embodiment of the invention, the backpack comes in twoparts, the backpack and the carrier. The backpack will have four-inchsilicon (or other suitable material) wheels attached to it. The wheelscan snap off and be placed in a pocket when the student arrives atschool. In most cases, the student will roll their backpack to and fromschool. When they arrive, they will collapse the carrier, which will fitin a locker as small as eighteen inches. They will then store the wheelsand take the backpack from class to class.

[0011] The carrier will be made out of aluminum (or other suitablematerial) with a telescopic handle. In a preferred embodiment, thebackpack attaches or is secured to the carrier handle or carrier with aVelcro encasement and/or two elastic cords attached from the axel to thecarrier. Other materials may also be utilized to attach the backpack tothe carrier. In a preferred embodiment, the maximum amount of weight thebackpack should hold would be about sixty pounds. The carrier itselfshould weigh no more than four pounds.

[0012] The “trend right” aspects of the rolling backpack are the largewheels that snap off when not in use, the lightweight, yet sturdyfabrication, the telescopic handle, the clamp and hinge on the carrier,and the fact that it comes in two pieces, both able to fit into aneighteen inch locker. An alternate design for the product might includethe placement of the wheels on the carrier itself so that anystandard-sized backpack or piece of luggage may be placed on and securedto the carrier.

[0013] In another embodiment of the invention, the wheels on the carrierare partially covered by a nostalgic “40's” style fender. The backpackattaches to the base of the carrier with Velcro or other materials in atrendy fashion. In a preferred embodiment, there is Velcro on thebackpack base and Velcro on the carrier. There is also Velcro casing onthe back, which attaches to the handle. This embodiment of the backpack,as well as the carrier, will fit into a standard eighteen-inch locker.

What is claimed is:
 1. A carrier device, comprising: at least twowheels; a base; attachment means; a telescoping handle; and means tocollapse the carrier.